Shane Ryan – Warning!!! Pedophile Released (2009)

A pedophile is released out of prison from a 6-year sentence after allegedly molesting a 12-year old girl. The victim, now 18, reunites with her assailant whom she calls her “soul mate” only to spark outrage in the community. Not only do they attack the Pedophile, but soon cause more harm and chaos to the girl that they supposedly were protecting.

Quote: Somewhere int he middle of nowhere, USA: When he was 18 and she was 12, Malachi (Shane Ryan) and Echo (Kai Lanette) were in a relationship – but while they genuinely loved each other, their relationship was not of a sexual nature … and yet, he was accused and convicted of pedophilia and sent to jail – which left not only him heartbroken but also Echo. When Echo waas 15, she was gang-raped, and impregnated in the process, but when her father (Rob Dale) found out, he just threw her out onto the street because he didn’t want to go through all the same shit again he had gone through during the pedophilia trial. Having to live on her own at age 15 with no source of income, Echo soon runs out of friends who at least supply her with a roof over her head, and so she finds herself forced to sleep under bridges and become a(n underaged) prostitute to make ends meet. Echo is now 18, and after 6 years, Malachi is finally released – and she has waited all this time. Thanks to none other than Malachi’s blind mother (Molly Wryn), Echo has now a roof over her head and a car Malachi’s mother has bought her to drive her around. After 6 years though, Malachi finds it hard to adjust to life outside of jail, and though he is welcomed back into an intact home by Eco and his mother, he seems to be at odds with pretty much everything – and finally is broken when he finds posters bearing his mug and the words “Warning!!! Pedophile released” and is subsequently violently attacked by a neighbour. Malachi decides to simply run away, but Echo is not willing to give up on him and finally catches up with him, adamant to stay with him come what may. The last image of the film shows the two of them sitting on a trainstation in the middle of nowhere waiting for a train to take them to nowhere else – but at least they are together. A very powerful and compelling drama that might have been shot on a shoestring and on hand-held digital cam, but tells its story in a series of greatly set-in-scene, atmospheric images and a rich cinematic language which manage to tell the film’s story without the use of much dialogue – all of which make it hard to find anything similar in modern cinema, as this film is more reminiscent of the neorealist movement from decades ago than anything else, without ever becoming a rip-off or an unimaginative hommage though. Apart from its self-assured direction though, the film is also beautifully carried by Kai Lanette’s (intentionally) unglamourous yet spot-on performance, which makes her, a woman in her 20’s, believable even as a twelve-year-old. Far removed from Shane Ryan’s and Kai Lanette’s previous collaboration, the sexploitation/suspense flick Amateur Porn Star Killer 2, and a true work of art. If there’s any justice in the film world, Ryan and Lanette are both destined for something really big – and I don’t mean big as in big budget, but big as in great